


A Second Chance

by Kayluh1915



Series: Fuck You Ryan Haywood 🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻 [2]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Blood, Fear of Death, Graphic Depictions of a Major Natural Disaster, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Major Character Injury, Panic, Shock, emotional distress, no human death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:15:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25739431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayluh1915/pseuds/Kayluh1915
Summary: Gavin was looking forward to Ryan coming home after being gone for a little over a month. He had been on the road with Geoff and several other of their coworkers chasing yet another one of his passions... literally. He couldn't really afford it, but Geoff extended their trip for one final day, disappointing both Ryan and Gavin, but that will be the least of their worries by the end of the day, for the monster that Geoff had been hunting was about to show its ugly face in thier own backyard.
Relationships: Gavin Free/Ryan Haywood
Series: Fuck You Ryan Haywood 🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1964575
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	A Second Chance

**Author's Note:**

> Update 10/12/2020: I am aware of the things that have come forward about Ryan, but have decided to leave my fics up. If you would like more context on what happened or just want to know my thoughts on the situation, you can watch [ this video ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmmZkUfr-xE) to get up to speed or read my full [ thoughts and opinions ](https://kayluh1915.tumblr.com/post/631560419987881984/update) on the matter. This situation is truly terrible. A disgusting revelation, but I worked hard on these stories and feel that it's wrong to just toss them to the side because we were all duped. Either way, I just hope that we start to heal from this soon.  
> ____________________
> 
> Whaddup? I'm back, bitches! This time with something a little more somber and serious.
> 
> A bit of backstory first, I love tornados. I've had an unhealthy passion for these monsters since I was little, but as beautiful as they may be, the destruction they cause is not. I love studying the impacts of major storms and every time I do, I always want to write a love story around them for some reason. This is one of those stories. I blame it on my love for Titanic, to be honest... While not based on a real storm, Austin is in quite a hot spot for tornadic activity. Dallas is more likely to see a storm like this, but Austin is vulnerable as well. So this is me throwing Freewood into a rare (yet devastating) [EF5](https://weather.com/storms/tornado/news/enhanced-fujita-scale-20130206) tornado. There's obviously more to the story, but that's the gist of it.
> 
> DISCLAIMER!!!!: This is in no way implying that I want this to happen nor is it to glorify these dangerous monsters. As much as I love tornados and the science behind them, I wish they didn't exist. They're tragic beasts that uproot people's lives every single year and are not to be taken lightly. This story is just for entertainment purposes and is not to be taken seriously. If you would like more info about these monsters and how to protect yourself, you can read up on them on the [NWS website](https://www.weather.gov/safety/tornado) or you can help those affected by current natural disasters by donating to the [American Red Cross.](https://www.redcross.org/)
> 
> As always, comments are encouraged and appreciated!
> 
> You can also follow me on Tumblr [@kayluh1915](https://kayluh1915.tumblr.com/) if you would like! I make gifs, edits, and (obviously) write when I get the chance!
> 
> Enjoy... er, umm... the best you can with a story like this... Ah, goddamn it, you know what I mean!

Gavin awoke abruptly from a dreamless sleep, his phone buzzing loudly nearby on the nightstand. Irritated by his rude awakening, he reached over and grabbed the rumbling device, prepared to silence it and go back to sleep as if it had never rung. He had been up the entire night before finishing up an edit and was exhausted, but he forgot all about his lost sleep when he saw that it was his boyfriend trying to reach him. This didn't make him any less frustrated, but he'd take any chance he could to hear Ryan's voice.

"Hello?" He answered groggily, sitting up in bed and wrapping the blanket around his shoulders.

"G' morning, Dear. I'm sorry to wake you so early on a Sunday, but I needed to tell you that we won't be home tonight like we thought." Gavin's shoulders slumped, his mood instantly going downhill. Not that he was feeling that great to begin with. "There's a nasty system that's going to be moving towards Dallas today, and we really need to try to catch it. It's our last chance at getting one, and Geoff _really doesn't_ want to pass it up."

Ryan had been away from home for nearly a month now, traveling all over tornado alley with Geoff, Jeremy, Jack, and Micheal. They were out filming a new series that would be a very loose follow up to their successful ghost-hunting series on the RoosterTeeth website. They had wrapped up filming yesterday evening but were returning home empty-handed, only having footage of hail, impressive lightning strikes, fast food runs, and typical crew bickering.

"Can you guys even afford another day out?" Gavin asked.

"Geoff says that he feels pretty confident that we can get one out of this system today, so he's taking the risk. He really trusts the meteorologists that's guiding us for some reason. They're pretty much swearing on their lives that we're going to catch one, but I'm doubtful. They haven't found us one so far, what's this one any different?" Gavin doesn't reply at first, breathing a deep sigh as he sleepily rubs his face.

"I was really looking forward to seeing you today. I understand, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. I mean, it's almost been a month since the last time I saw you."

"I know, Darling. I'm disappointed too. I miss you and Smee so much, but the day will pass, and I'll be home before you know it. Dan's coming in today, right?" Gavin nodded, forgetting he was on the phone for a split second.

"Yeah."

"Good. Filming with him seems to take your mind off things, but please do me a favor... try not to burn the house down." Gavin chuckled.

"It'd be Dan's fault. I'm just the bloke who records it."

"Uh-huh." Gavin was about to say something else until he heard Geoff on the other line.

"Ryan, let's go! We're not going to get there in time if we don't leave now!" He then heard Ryan groan in annoyance.

"Yeah, I'm comin'! I gotta go, Dear. I'll call you when we stop for food… whenever that'll be."

"Alright, Love. Be careful, please."

"I will Dear. Love yo-" Ryan was interrupted by Geoff again.

"Oh, shut up and let's go!"

* * *

To Gavin's surprise, he fell back to sleep fairly quickly, not being disturbed again until he heard the front door unlock downstairs. He thought for a fleeting moment that maybe Ryan had come home early, but that went out the window almost as quickly as it had come in.

"You here, Gav?" Dan called from downstairs.

"Yeah, give me a few!" Gavin rose up from bed, yawning and stretching out his back as he stood up. After using the bathroom, brushing his teeth, and getting dressed, he went downstairs to find Dan helping himself to the baked macaroni and cheese he had made last night while Smee purred happily at Dan's feet.

"Any good?" Gavin asked, taking a seat next to Dan at the dining table. "I don't think I added enough cheese to it." Dan swallowed the bite he was chewing, shaking his head.

"Nah, it's good B. Never thought you'd be one to pick up cooking, though." Gavin sighed at that, Dan taking another bite of the cheesy dish.

"Neither did I, but with Ryan being gone this past month, I needed something else to eat besides greasy fast food every day."

"I can see that, yeah. Wasn't he supposed to be home tonight?"

"Yeah, but Geoff's staying out for another day. Major system moving towards Dallas apparently. Wants to try one last time. They should be home sometime tomorrow… hopefully." Dan could see that Gavin was upset, disappointment written all over his face as he stared down at the glass tabletop. 

Dan opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted when both of their phones began to chime loudly. Gavin jumped 10ft into the air with an unhappy squawk and grabbed his phone out of his back pocket.

"Tornado Watch," Dan muttered, looking over at Gav. "… should I be worried?"

"Nah," Gavin answered, waving his hand dismissively and setting his phone aside. "We get watches all the time down here." Dan shrugged his shoulders, dismissing the watch and continuing to eat.

"May want to get some filming done, though, in case it does storm later."

"Might be a good idea, yeah. Get as much as we can today so we don't have to do as much tomorrow." Gavin agreed. Dan finished his plate and placed it in the dishwasher.

"Ready when you are, B."

* * *

They had been recording for the better part of two hours, getting two (almost three) videos entirely shot to Gavin's shock. While Ryan was obviously still in the back of his mind, he was now in a much better mood. Working with Dan was always a joy, never a dull moment with one of his oldest friends. They were currently finishing up their third video, Dan unsurprisingly covered in paint from head to toe.

"Ahh! Got some in my mouth!" He exclaimed, running over to the water hose to wash it out. Gavin was almost on the ground, doubling over with squeaky laughter.

Gavin was setting up the shot for another take when they both heard thunder over the horizon. Their heads snapped in the general direction of where it cracked and then to each other.

"It looks pretty nasty back there, Gav... I know we're almost done, but maybe we should wait and finish it tomorrow once the storms pass." Dan suggested, Gavin flashing him a knowing smirk.

"You just want to wash up, B. Don't lie." Dan chuckled.

"While that is a bonus, do you want the Phantoms getting wet?" Gavin was about to crack a joke about bagging the camera or something along those lines when another clap of thunder rolled across the rapidly darkening sky, sounding a lot closer and a bit more sinister.

"... Let's wrap." Dan ran inside to shower while Gav quickly moved all of their equipment back into the house. He had just shut the back door when the rain began to pour, falling so heavily that it instantly soaked everything. He let out a puff of air he didn't realize he had been holding and then carried the phantom into his and Ryan's office, connecting it to his computer to empty the mag.

Once that was loading, he made his way back to the kitchen, making sure that Smee had food and water before laying on the couch with the cat in question and checking his phone. He bit his lip when he realized that he and Dan had missed the severe thunderstorm warning while they were outside.

Gavin gently pets Smee's head, scrolling through his Twitter silently and smiling wide when he saw that Geoff had posted a photo of himself, Ryan, Micheal, Jack and Jeremy standing in front of a tornado with various expressions of excitement.

" _After a month of chasing these monsters down, we've finally caught one!"_ The caption read. Gavin liked it and posted a reply.

" _@GeoffLRamsey @AH_Michael @jack_p @RyanTheTwit @JeremyNDooley Congratulations, nerds!"_

As soon as Gavin posted it, he heard Dan come back downstairs, dressed and drying off his hair with a towel.

"What are you so smiley about?" He asked, seeing the grin spread across Gavin's face. He didn't answer, favoring to instead hold up his phone to show Dan the picture Geoff had posted. After seeing it, Dan's grin mirrored Gavin's.

"Hey, look at that! They finally got one! Guess he'll definitely be home tomorrow then." Gavin nodded.

"Yeah. I can't wait to see him. It's been so long I think I've almost forgotten what it's like to have his arms around me." Dan rolled his eyes, throwing the towel he had around his neck into Gavin's face.

"Sheesh, I hope he does come home. You're all sappy." Gavin pushed the towel away, his cheeks turning blush pink. Suddenly, another crack of thunder rumbled through the house, shaking the artwork and photo frames on the walls.

"Bloody Nora…" Dan muttered. "That lightning sounds close." Dan walked over to the living room window and looked through the blinds. After another flash of lightning and a loud clap of thunder, Gavin's phone rang from where it laid on the couch. He answered quickly when he saw Ryan's contact photo.

"Hey, Love! I saw Geoff's photo on Twitter." He heard Ryan let out a deep breath that sounded like relief.

"Thank God. Are you alright?" Ryan's tone was urgent and was laced thick with worry.

"Yeah…" Gavin replied, confusion evident in his voice. "Dan and I just wrapped up shooting before this thunderstorm rolled in. Why?"

"Darling, listen to me. I need you and Dan to grab Smee and get into the closet under the stairs as soon as possible." Gavin's heart dropped, Ryan's worried tone sending an unpleasant chill up his spine.

"You're scaring me, Love… What's going o-?" Both of their phones suddenly went nuts, making Gavin jump and hiking up his growing bundle of nerves. Dan backed away from the window and silenced his wailing device, eyes widening when he read the alert.

"Listen, just get the cat, put on some shoes, and get into the closet, okay? I'm not saying that it's going to hit, but a dangerous tornado has been spotted near the Austin area. It's tracking path has been unpredictable and I need you and Dan to take precautions just in ca-... orst happ-... av.."

"Rye?" Gavin called, but it was no use. The line had gone dead and the call ended. As if on cue, the tornado sirens suddenly began to sound, sending yet another wave of dread through his body. Gavin swallowed hard, breaking out in a cold sweat as he jumped up to his feet and grabbed Smee.

"Put on some shoes and meet me in the closet under the stairs." He told Dan, running for the closet after he slid on a pair of old Converse. He huddled up into the corner, holding onto Smee and turning on the flashlight from his phone with shaking hands. Dan joined him a few moments later, sitting next to Gav in the corner.

"Is this common too?" Dan asked.

"No. Warnings aren't nearly as common as watches, but they do happen every so often. They're usually short-lived, but Ryan sounded worried."

Minutes ticked by, the rain nearly stopping and the tornado sirens outside abruptly silencing. The space around them filled with an eerie calm, the usual quiet sounds of their breathing and Smee's purrs sounding like the loudest thing they'd ever heard.

"You know, this isn't quite how I pictured my Sunday going." Dan joked, earning a laugh from Gavin.

"Really? You didn't think you'd be hunkered down in your best mate's closet waiting for one of the few tornado warnings we get a year to pass?"

"Can't say I did. Thought I'd be kicking your butt in Overwatch or something." They both laughed but stopped instantly when they heard a loud thud. It startled both of them for a moment, but when the silence returned, they calmed down.

"How much longer on the warning?" Dan asked. Gavin grabbed his phone and opened the warning message he received earlier, his brow furrowing at what he saw.

"That's odd…" He muttered.

"What is?"

"The sirens don't usually shut off until the warning is over, but we still have another six minutes left and they've been qui-" Gavin was interrupted by the sound of a window shattering and another loud thud. The sound was so close that whatever it was had been undoubtedly thrown through his window.

"Fuck, what was that!?" Dan exclaimed. Gavin sprung up and grabbed a blanket from a nearby shelf, his ears popping from the change in pressure.

"Flying debris. Get your head down in case something comes through the wall." He answered, throwing the blanket over them as they both ducked and covered their heads. Smee was now underneath Gavin and was obviously stressed, but there was nothing he could do to calm the poor cat.

The entire house began to rumble around them, more windows being broken along with the sounds of his and Ryan's belongings being thrown and destroyed. A sudden loud roaring filled Gavin's ears, sounding like he was standing right next to a freight train.

They were being hit.

Dan rose his head up, but Gavin shoved it back down.

" _Keep your head down_!" He exclaimed, Dan barely being able to hear him over the violent winds that almost seemed to growl. Gavin screwed his eyes shut and held on to Smee as he listened to the twister destroy everything around them.

The ceiling above them began to give way, loose planks, nails, and broken glass raining over them as the wind only got louder and more intense. That was when Gavin began to panic. This was supposed to be his safe place from the storm. If it was falling to withstand the tornado, would he even live? He's heard the stories of tornado victims before and the ones that didn't end well usually always started like this.

The thing he worried about the most, though, was Ryan. He hadn't seen him in a month and was terrified that when Ryan did come home, he would find him in a body bag.

He hadn't realized that he was screaming until something heavy suddenly draped over him. He screamed louder, scared that something had fallen on top of him, but it was only Dan trying to calm him down.

He was trying to tell Gavin that everything would be okay, but he couldn't hear anything past his own heartbeat, breathing, and cries.

Something was suddenly thrown through what was left of the wall like mistle, striking Gavin in the head and knocking him unconscious. Dan saw blood begin to pour from the wound on Gavin's head, quickly putting his hand over it to help it clot before he was hit unconscious as well.

* * *

Ryan was a mess, speeding down the interstate and squirming in the driver's seat. He had the radio on, listening to the local station in Austin for updates on the damage the tornado had caused. So far, it didn't sound good.

Damage reports were coming in from all over, claims of specific neighborhoods being deemed unrecognizable. Since he and Gavin lived a decent drive away from the city, there were no reports about where they lived yet. He knew the cell towers were down, but he kept trying Gavin and Dan's phones anyway, just in case. As expected, there was nothing.

Ryan, Geoff, and his fellow coworkers had been riding on the high of finally catching a tornado when their guiding meteorologist, named Joe, had interrupted their celebration with a somber look on his face.

"You're all from Austin, right?" Geoff looked at his colleagues and then back to Joe with a nod. "I really hate to tell you this, but some storm spotters in the area are tracking multi-vortex wedge tornado heading for the city. It has a history of suddenly changing track and is very dangerous, so you may want to warn your loved ones. There's not even a warning on it yet, so now would be a good time."

They all scrambled, but they only had a short time before the cell towers went down. They had planned on staying another night in Dallas, but after hearing of the dangerous twister on the ground in their own backyard, there was no time to waste.

Right before they left, Joe had told them that the National Weather Service had upgraded the warning to a tornado emergency. Tornado emergencies are an enhanced version of a tornado warning and are very rarely issued. They're reserved for twisters that are guaranteed to do a lot of damage and take lives. Past monsters like El Reno, Moore, Joplin, and Tuscaloosa were all considered tornado emergencies, and Ryan knew that. He wished he didn't.

He dropped everything and immediately began heading home, not even picking up his things from the hotel they were staying at or telling Geoff. His phone had buzzed in his pocket the entire time, but he ignored in favor of getting to Gavin. He'd sort everything out later.

When Ryan finally pulled off the Austin exit, he looked around the city nervously. Things didn't look too banged up and definitely didn't match the reports he had heard on the radio. He continued to floor it past the city all the way to their neighborhood, the damage slowly showing itself the closer he got, but it still didn't seem that severe. Some trees were knocked over, and a power line or two was down, but nothing to the scale he had heard about.

He had hoped that maybe the tornado had shifted and tracked away from their neighborhood, but that hope was destroyed after he passed the last intact house on the corner.

He could've listened to people on the radio describe the damage all night, and he still wouldn't have been prepared for what he'd seen when he turned that corner. It looked as if a bomb had gone off right in the middle of their cozy neighborhood. 

Houses were utterly flattened, only leaving a pile of planks, trees were uprooted or twisted and stripped of their leaves and bark, cars were tossed around like ragdolls and mangled beyond recondition, and people's belongings were strung all over the street.

"Jesus…" He whispered breathlessly, taking a moment to comprehend what he was seeing before continuing to slowly drive through the carnage. The asphalt had also been ripped up by the high winds, so it was difficult to know if he was even going the right way, but he continued the best he knew how.

He drove as far as he could until an overturned semi (a fucking semi) stopped him in his tracks. Needing to get to Gavin, he got out of the car and continued on foot, watching his step as he went. The last thing he needed right now was tetanus.

The smell of gasoline, smoke, and timber was fresh under his nose as the sounds of children's cries, barking dogs, and people's pleas for help rang in his ears.

When he made it to where his home was supposed to be, he didn't want to believe it was. He had convinced himself for a fleeting moment that he had gotten lost amidst the destruction, but when he saw their mailbox poking out from a drywall slab, he collapsed to his knees.

There was nothing left.

The haven they had spent years making their own was gone entirely.

It was almost too much for him to handle, tears welling up in his eyes. He cried for a moment before suddenly remembering that Gavin and Dan were somewhere in that pile of timber and probably needed his help.

He wiped his eyes and took off running, climbing the debris and yelling for Gavin and Dan. He called for about two minutes before he heard a muffled response. He couldn't really make it out but rushed over to where the sound came from anyway, calling out for them again.

"Over here…" He barely heard. Once he found the source of the response, he gasped loudly. Dan had answered him, buried under a pile of 2x4's and pinned down by a support beam. Ryan moved away as many of the boards as he could before lifting up the support beam just enough for Dan to crawl out of the rubble.

"You alright?" He asked, holding his hand out to help Dan stand up. He was covered in mud and had several scratches on him. There was also a wound on the side of his head oozing blood, but that was all Ryan could see physically.

"Not perfect, but I'm breathing." Ryan looked down to where Dan had been pinned, hoping to see Gavin there as well, but there was nothing there but more rubble.

"Where's Gavin?" He asked.

"I don't kno- Ahhh." He groaned suddenly, his hand going up to hold his side. Ryan reached out, prepared to catch him just in case. "When it took the roof, Gavin slipped into a panic attack. I draped myself over him and tried to calm him down, but something came through the wall and knocked him out. I protected him for as long as I could, but something hit me and I blacked out as well. I woke up pinned down under a pile of debris. I have no idea where he is."

Ryan's worry grew. If Gavin wasn't with Dan, then where the hell could he be? Ryan flagged down an ambulance for Dan, helping down from the wreckage and onto the stretcher.

"Please try to find him," Dan said while the paramedics began to look him over. "If I wasn't banged up, I would've already been tearing this place to pieces... well, more than it already has been." Ryan laughed, more out of reflex than actual amusement.

"Don't worry. Nothing will be left unturned until he's safe and sound in my arms again."

* * *

Ryan had been searching through the remains of their home for hours, calling out for Gavin the entire time, but he's found nothing. His hands were splintered and cut and his throat was raw, but he continued on, refusing to give up hope.

Some of his neighbors had come over after they had learned the fate of their own loved ones, helping Ryan dig through the pile and call for the Brit. They had lived in that neighborhood for almost three years and the thought of Gavin being missing was bothering his neighbors just as much as it was bothering him.

At some point, Ryan had found Smee pinned under a door... but it was evident that he didn't make it. Ryan tore his eyes away from Gavin's baby, his heart shattering into a million pieces. Gavin was going to be devastated. He left the Siamese where he laid, promising to come back and give him a proper burial.

Their time to find Gavin was running out, the sun beginning to set over the horizon. It was hard to believe that the sun was even out when their community had been ripped apart not even five hours ago.

Ryan was about to continue to dig when a small, meek voice called out to him.

"E-Excuse me? Mr. Haywood?" It called, getting Ryan's attention. It was Lucy, the 10-year-old daughter of his and Gavin's next-door neighbor. She and her mother had been helping him look for Gavin but had left to grab some gloves from her storm shelter. He only just now noticed that it had been a while since they've returned.

"Uh-Umm… I-I think Mom might have found Mr. Free." The other neighbors helping him gasped, Ryan leaping down from the pile and following the young girl across what was left the street. Lucy's mother was looking up at one of the stripped trees that was still standing, her hand covering her mouth. Ryan followed her gaze, his heart dropping at the sight.

Tangled in the branches was unmistakenly Gavin. His face was hidden from view, but even from the ground, Ryan could see that he didn't look good. Bile rose in his throat, but he wasted no time. He ran past Lucy and her mother, climbing the tree as fast as he could to get to his boyfriend. His wounded hands protested the entire way up, but he didn't care.

A small crowd grew below the tree, their neighbors watching closely as Ryan scaled the tree.

He got as close as he could, reaching out his hand and placing it on Gavin's neck to feel for a pulse. He honestly didn't expect to feel one. His usual tan skin had no color to it at all, covered in mud and several open gashes. His temple and leg sported the worst of the cuts, both wounds still bleeding lightly even after he had been in the tree for several hours.

Ryan let out an audible cry of relief when he felt a pulse. It was weak but thumping steadily on his fingers.

"He's breathing! Get me an ambulance!" He yelled down to the small crowd. There was relief, but still an overwhelming concern as a few people fled to fetch one.

At the very least, he had been found.

Ryan reached a bit further to thread his fingers through Gavin's matted hair. He wanted to kiss him so badly, but he was too far away to reach him.

"You'll be okay, Dear. You'll be alright." He whispered.

The neighbors and paramedics worked with Ryan to fish Gavin out of the tree, being extremely careful not to jostle him too much since they had no idea how severe his internal injuries were. Once he was down, Ryan carried Gavin over to the stretcher and placed a quick kiss to his muddy forehead before surrendering him over to the EMT's.

They asked him basic questions about Gavin like his name, birthday, and any drug allergies. Once they had the information they needed, they whisked Gavin away, Ryan returning to his car and flooring it to the hospital. It also had taken significant damage, but had remained intact enough to maintain function for the more severe patients… like Gavin.

Ryan ran through the ER's halls, kicking leaves and twigs that had been blown in by the tornado around as he headed straight to where they had Gavin, a large team of nurses and doctors surrounding his bed. They had ripped off what was left of his tattered shirt and wiped away the mud on his arms for a sterile working space. They stuck him with an IV in his left hand and drew blood from his right arm, putting a pulse oximeter on his finger and blood pressure cuff on his arm after they had drawn all the blood they'd needed.

Once his heart rate and blood pressure came up, chaos broke out among them, a nurse beginning chest compressions. Ryan heard someone scream, loud and shrill as he ran towards Gavin. He realized it was his own scream when he heard it again as another team of nurses pushed him away. He couldn't make out what they were saying and he didn't care.

Ryan collapsed to his knees, tears rushing down his face. He had already lost so much, he couldn't lose Gavin too. It was all too much for him to bare all at once, not being able to help it when he fell unconscious in the middle of the emergency room floor.

* * *

Ryan jolted awake with a gasp, violently rising up from where he was laying. Before he could even process what was going on, there were comforting hands on his back and shoulder.

"Hey, hey. Take it easy, bud. You're alright." Ryan looked over to see Geoff looking back at him with concerned eyes, trying his best to calm him down. Ryan took a couple of deep breathes to steady himself, taking in his surroundings carefully. He was in what looked like a tent, laying on a hospital stretcher. His injured hands had been cleaned and bandaged and he was hooked up to one of those monitors that they had put on… Gavin.

"Where is he?" Ryan asked, ready to bolt at any second.

"He's fine, Ryan. Banged up, but he's alright." Ryan laid back down, letting out a heavy sigh. Despite what he had seen before he blacked out, the man he loved more than anything was okay.

"The nurse said you fainted when you saw him code. It was too much for you so you just..." Geoff made a gesture with his hand.

Ryan rose up again, taking the pulse ox monitor off his finger. "Where are you going?"

"I wanna see him." Ryan gruffed, standing up from his bed.

"No, you need to rest. Both of you have had the worst days you'll probably ever hav-"

"The first time I see my boyfriend in a month is in a tree nearly dead surrounded by neighbors. The last time I saw him he _was_ dead. If he really is okay, I want to see him. I need to feel him breathing in my arms... please." Geoff looked down at the ground and sighed, thinking only for a few seconds before standing up from his chair.

"Follow me."

As if Ryan's his day hadn't been shocking enough, beyond the confines of his own medical tent were hundreds of others all set up in the lawn of the hospital. Each one he passed contained various severities of injuries. Some minor like a broken wrist, some a bit more major like open wounds. What made the entire ordeal worse, however, was that a lot of the victims were children. The mere thought alone made Ryan sick to his stomach.

It felt like it took forever to reach the front shattered glass doors of the hospital, both of them watching their step as they walked in. Gavin had been placed on the third floor, the most intact in the entire hospital. Climbing the stairs felt so foreign in a place like a hospital, but Ryan tried not to think about it.

When he reached Gavin's room, he was relieved to see that he hadn't been alone. Dan was sitting in a chair next to his bed while a tarp covered the nearby broken window. Dan was covered in bandages, but he looked okay.

"Hey, good to see you back up," Dan said, but Ryan wasn't paying attention. He was more focused on the steady beeping of Gavin's heartbeat on the monitor. Proof that he was alive.

"Has he been awake yet?" Geoff asked as Ryan crossed the room to stand next to Gavin's bed.

"Not yet. The nurse said it should be any minute now, though."

"What's wrong with him?" Ryan asked without even thinking, taking Gavin's hand into his and caressing his knuckles gently.

"He uhh… has four broken ribs, a punctured lung, a major concussion, and several major and lacerations. The surgeon said he was one lucky bastard." Ryan leaned down to press a kiss to Gavin's cheek, but that one kiss wasn't nearly enough. His brain still on autopilot, Ryan climbed into the bed next to him, being mindful of his IV and monitor wires.

"What're yo-"

"Leave him be." Geoff interrupted, holding his arm out to stop Dan from getting his hand chopped off or something. Ryan wrapped his arms around Gavin, pulling him into his chest and burying his nose into his hair. It smelled like mud, but he could've cared less.

Gavin stirred in his arms, those green eyes Ryan thought he’d never see again slowly opening and staring up at him. Ryan’s eyes welled up with tears as Gavin came to, slowly realizing the situation he was in.

“R-Rye…?” Ryan shushed him quietly and placed a kiss atop his forehead.

“I’m here, Darling.” Gavin looked around the room, obviously very confused as Geoff left to fetch a nurse.

“What happened?”

“Don’t worry about that right now, Dear. How are you feeling?” Gavin groaned.

“M’head hurts.” Ryan frowned, bringing his hand up to rub his forehead. Gavin hummed with relief. The nurse came in with Geoff shortly, checking over Gavin properly to make sure he was doing okay. Once she left with the promise to come back with pain medication for Gavin’s headache, Ryan continued to hold onto him, slightly rocking him and humming a quiet tune almost unconsciously.

He had entirely forgotten that Dan and Geoff were there, both of them seeing Ryan at his most vulnerable. Geoff tapped on Dan’s shoulder and gestured towards the door, both men deciding to leave the two of them alone.

There was an elephant sitting in the room. Gavin knew this as Ryan held him close and hummed to him as he always did, but he didn’t have the strength to bring any of it up. He instead melted into his lover’s arms, allowing Ryan’s gentle rocks and low hums to lull him back to sleep.

Once he knew his Brit had drifted off, he pressed another kiss to his head.

“I thought I’d lost you…” He whispered, holding him tighter and eventually dozing himself.

* * *

The city of Austin had nearly been wiped off of the map, narrowly missing downtown as the EF5 twister left a path of complete devastation in its wake. Countless lives were lost, many more changed forever.

When the sun came up the next day, Ryan was relieved to learn that miraculously, everyone at Rooster Teeth had walked away from the twister with little to no injuries. However, several employee’s homes had also been flattened along with Gavin and Ryan’s.

Merely days after the disaster, thousands of volunteers from across the country poured in to assist with relief efforts. Ryan was one of the ones that were assisted when he returned to his and Gavin’s destroyed home to salvage whatever he could find. Honestly, there wasn’t much.

He recovered several photographs, one of Gavin’s hard drives, the watch his mother had gotten him as a birthday gift (that was now broken), and an Xbox controller. Everything else had been lost.

Ryan gave Gavin’s beloved feline a proper burial after the cleanup crew came through just as he promised. Gavin didn’t take it well, clutching to his battered collar with big tears streaming down his face. Ryan comforted him the best he knew how.

About a month later, Gavin still hadn’t seen the wreckage. He was still recovering from his wounds, but he wanted to see what was left of the house and where he had been found. Ryan was reluctant, but gave in, driving him to the site. Gavin was speechless the entire time Ryan led him around, showing him where he found Dan, where Lucy found Gavin, and finally where he’d buried Smee.

Gavin kneeled down to the makeshift gravestone and caressed it with his hand, still taking in everything around him. Ryan bent down next to him, placing his hands on his shoulders. After a moment, Gavin let out a sniffle, allowing the weight of everything to finally collapse onto him.

Ryan scooped him up into his arms and held him close until his tears ran dry. So many had been shed within a month he was surprised he still had any.

“You okay, Dear?” Ryan asked, Gavin nodding on his chest.

“Yeah… It’s just… a lot.” Ryan kissed the top of his head.

“I know.” They sat there for another few minutes, Ryan finally pulling away from his embrace to caress Gavin’s arms. “C’mon, let’s go.” Gavin wiped his nose with his wrist and stood up with Ryan, following him back to the car. As they drove away, Gavin looked back at what was once their normal life until it disappeared over the horizon.

Even though it had been a month since the tornado hit, the future was still unclear. Gavin and Ryan’s physical wounds were almost healed, but the emotional scars will be there forever. For a little while after, Gavin panics every time there’s a thunderstorm or a tornado watch while Ryan would wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares about Gavin being in that damn tree.

Yet, despite it all, Gavin and Ryan were happy. The small one-bedroom apartment with a Walmart couch, bed, and a 32in TV weren’t the best, but they were beyond thankful.

Yes, they’d lost a lot, but that was just stuff. You can go to the store and buy anything, but you can’t buy life. Gavin beat the odds (along with Dan), survived a deadly EF5 tornado, and was given a second chance at life.

What more could either of them ask for?


End file.
